Persistent fungal diaper rash- please help?

Question

My 10mo son has had a diaper rash for two months now. Certain medications prescribed by his pediatrician helped, but then it came right back. He just had a doctors visit today & she prescribed Nystatin again, which didn't work last time. Please give me your advice.

What we've done:
-Triple Paste or A&D (we were using these when he first got the rash)
-Nystatin
-Nystatin w/ some kind of steriod
-Fusion (script that has zinc oxide, miconazole nitrate & petrolatum)
-Switched diaper brand from Pampers to Huggies
-Switched baby soap from J&J to Baby Majic (hypoallergenic & dye free)
-Wiped with just water & paper towel for a while (no results, went back to sensitive wipes)
-Strep test came back negative
-Started adding just a splash of juice to his water rather than the 50/50 mixture
-He goes diaper free at least 15 minutes a day
-Using Caldesene (powder with zinc oxide in it)

We change his diaper every 1-2 hours and always let him air dry before putting a new diaper on.

I use aquaphor on him (chapped cheeks) and swear by it. But the problem with a fungal diaper rash is moisture, so we shouldn't use anything that traps moisture in like the typical diaper rash ointments or aquaphor. That's why we started with the powder, which I was entirely against using until everything else failed.

Thank you so much for the answers. I'm going with Lotrimin (4 times a day), 7th generation diapers & the oregano oil/olive oil mixture (I read up on it and it's safe to use in conjunction with other remedies). I'm praying this will work and it'll be really hard to pick a BA since I'm using a combo of answers.
BTW... how does a parent "try to hard" to help their baby???

Answer 1

gentian violet worked for me- It's messy but worth it- ask your pharmacist if you don't see it in the aisles-

Answer 2

Keep up the air drying then use the cornstarch but by itself, no with anything else, just the powder. And use cornstarch, not a baby powder with cornstarch, just the plain cornstarch and be liberal with it.

In your other question you stated you switched diaper brands, what you need to do is switch diapers from disposable to cloth. Cloth breathes much better and with the newer types of cloth diapers you don't use plastic pants or rubber pants over them to trap heat and moisture that induces diaper rashes.

With cloth diapers, diaper rashes are very few and far between if at all when you change the diapers as soon as they get wet.

We all have gotten so used to being able to leave a disposable diaper on the baby because it wicks the moisture away from the skin, but you need to remember, that diaper is covered with a sheet of plastic, even the "cloth like feel" diapers and this plastic sheet raises the temperature under that diaper much higher making the skin an ideal breeding ground for a diaper rash.

Please seriously consider changing. I know it requires some extra effort to wash and dry the diapers but in turn, you don't have to make trips to the store late at night when you run out of disposable diapers.

You may wonder where I'm coming from with this information. I am incontinent and have to wear diaper 24 / 7. I have (and sometimes do) wear both types of diapers but I prefer and most of the time do wear cloth diapers.

Being an adult though I have to wear plastic pants over mine but I will tell you one thing. Since I switched to cloth diapers most of the time, I have never had another diaper rash. I would get them all the time when I wore the disposable diapers all te time.

I also am a married male and yes, I launder my own diapers so that my wife doesn't have to deal with them. I usually do three large loads a week and I dry the in the dryer. Occasionally I hang them out in the sun to get naturally bleached and have the sun's natural anti-bacterial properties do their thing. I would not go back to disposable diapers full time, ever again.

I hope this information helps you make an informed decision as to what to do with your baby.

Good luck.

Answer 3

i can give you the advice that will correct the problem, but it costs a little mroe than normal stuff. first, you need to switch diapers. there are a few brands that will work. try seventh generation. there are two other brands that are also good. but 7th gen is good enough. second, you need to switch the wipes that you are using. it is possible that teh combination of the urinationa nd the chemicals in the wipes are mixing. so, again, try 7th generation wipes. you need to go to whole foods market, or a nature's pantry, or mother earths. not sure where you live - but most places will have an organic store around. find it. or order online. third, try lucas pawpaw ointment. i put the link below. it is from australia. you can also try products from canus. for example, Canus Li'l Goat's Milk 40% Zinc Oxide Ointment. keep it in a cool dry place (same for the pawpaw ointment). but be careful, b/c not all canus products are toxic free. Burt's Bees also makes some good stuff. fourth, use california baby products to wash your baby. and use california baby powder. we now live in a tropical country - so i know about fungal rash! and you have to use california non-talc baby powder. it is totally awesome. use it.

try not to use j&j and baby majic.look on the product label : it says keep away from children! read third link below.

finally, i want you to go to "skin deep" it is the last link below. type in the products you are using and it will tell you why it is bad for your kid. it shows all the chemicals in the product and what it does to the baby's skin. good luck.

Answer 4

The best thing for a diaper rash is Aquaphor. You can buy it at Wal-mart or any drug store. My little boy use to get it bad and my Dr. gave me samples of it and it is better than nystatin. You can use it on cuts, burns, and rashes. It really works wonders. The sab is thick so when they urinate it doesn't stay on them causing them to rash. Try it, I guarantee it will work. Oh, if it is a yeast infection don't use corn starch because the yeast likes to feed off of it and it will only get worse. Do warm soaks, keep the area dry and apply aquaphor. You can also put a pair of underwear on him and let him air out alittle. Hope that helps.

Answer 5

No diaper at all....try Elimination Communication.
my 5 month old wears one diaper a day and it stays dry. She goes without a diaper at home and doesn't mess. It's incredible. When my first two kids got rashes (before I learned about EC) I switched to or from cloth diapers. Lansinoh brand breast cream and Desitin were the only lotions that worked at all.

Sorry about the rash...I know it is awful.

Answer 6

both my babies have had a fungal diaper rash....the best thing to do with the stubborn rashes is to cleanse the area three times a day, air it out for about 15 minutes. the most amazing stuff is called Happy Hiney! its a prescription that not all doctors know about...id ask a pharmacy about it. its an antifungal, anti inflammatory, and zinc oxide. its AMAZING!!!!! that is the only thing that has gotten rid of any of my kids diaper rashes! i wish you luck hun! bless your babies little heart =(

Answer 7

Recently we moved and are the new patients of a doctor who's almost fresh out of med school My daughter had this when she was younger and nothing worked. Our new pediatrician told us to use either athlete's foot cream or jock itch cream but that the one for the feet is the same but less expensive. I was horrified but squeemishly did it.....It worked! It is clotrimazole cream USP, 1% antifungal cream. If that won't work take him to either a dermatologist or endocronologist.

PS: Any chance his bath time is too long? Any more than 10 minutes can dry out the skin. Plus you might try a capful of Walgreen's knock off brand of Alpha-Keri oil in his bath. It could be eczema. I didn't notice if you said desitin, not the creamy but the regular kind. Anyhow, good luck and hope this helps.

Answer 8

My sister had this problem with her son and I made an ointment for him that worked. She will use nothing else on him to this day and now has her second child and uses it on him as well. I would be happy to share some of the info that would help but privately as it is a product that I sell. I won't be able to give you my exact recipe but I could tell you how to make up an oil blend that will do just as well. Email me if you want the info. I would have emailed you with it but you don't allow emails.

Answer 9

Take your son to another Doctor. I have never seen Caldesene not work.

You baby may have an underlying condition and the rash is his bodies way of telling you something is wrong.

Please insist on further testing. At this point you may need to do some research on the Internet and tell your doctor what you want to try.

Good luck!

Answer 10

This sounds odd but my daughter was the same way. Mix equal amounts of A&D ointment and Maylox. It will be soupy but it is suppose to be. The Maylox will take care of the burn and irritation and the A&D ointment will protect it. I know it sounds odd but after daycare and two kids I swear by this method for any harsh and persistent rash.

Answer 11

I am all about the natural way, my son has this a lot. It is yeast, and I make my own remedy. I put 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 4 drops of Oregnenol. This kills bacteria, it is the only thing that works, it will go away by the next diaper. It is amazing and great for them.